A little bit of context before you begin reading this book review. I have recently enrolled for an MA in Philosophy at the University of Mumbai. Philosophy is something I have been getting interested in, over the past few years, as those of you who have been reading my blogs and Instagram posts would know. During the pandemic, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next, and this is what I eventually came up with. It has been a challenge, getting back into academics as a student at this age, especially in a subject I have no academic background in. However, it has also been very exciting, especially thanks to my wonderful classmates (who, surprisingly, are of all age-groups, including some quite near my own) and my teachers, who have been very supportive and understanding. How well I will do is something that remains to be seen, but so far, I am enjoying this new journey and look forward to where it leads. Now that you know the background , you probably get an idea of how
The month of July brings along more than just the rain – it marks the beginning of the most auspicious period of the year, a period dotted with festivals. The first of these is the Varalakshmi Puja, the south Indian equivalent of the Lakshmi Puja during Diwali. This is strictly a family festival, the right for performing the puja being handed over from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. I would love to give you a glimpse into the grand way we perform the puja at home, but unfortunately, we are in a period of mourning, and haven’t performed the puja for the last two years. Hopefully, the period will end this year, and we can get along with our festivals… Meanwhile, I accompanied my sister to buy the flowers required for the puja. Join us in our trip…..
The flower market at Dadar is certainly the most popular, the most crowded, and the place to be if you want fresh and wonderful flowers, at the best rates, of course…… Here is a photoblog of our journey…
Our very first halt - all sorts of flowers.....
Our very first halt - all sorts of flowers.....
These are special.... we call them 'Manglore Malli' - literally, the jasmine from Mangalore..
... and I have no idea of the name of this one... my mom says they never wither......
The goddess is believed to like these pink flowers - called 'Arali' in tamil..
Lotuses galore... pink and white....
Masses of roses..... of every hue...
A dash of pink.... against the green....
Now white and orange... my favourite flowers - Mogra and Aboli...those are the marathi names - the tamil ones are Malli and Kanakambaram....
Flowers of every colour.....
Neatly stacked in piles....
These are the flowers already tied up.....ready to be worn....... a temptation, no doubt, but too expensive today!!!!
A sample of what the market has to offer....
Here are the flowers tied up again, but now the marathi way.... Gajras....
Mounds and mounds of flowers of every colour....
The credit for the next photo goes to my sis.... she had a vantage point of course, thanks to her height....
And here is my sis herself...... haggling with the shopkeeper............
....choosing none but the best.......
Happy now, Kanthi????? Hope you like the pics......
And finally, garlands for the goddess..........
If you liked this post, the person you must thank is my sister, Kanthi... For once, she was the one bargaining and selecting the stuff while I went click-happy....
Nice photographs Anu, it seems that your sister did had a hard time bargaining. :)
ReplyDeleteOh what a fest of colors! Beautiful. I just love flowers.
ReplyDeletelovely snaps anu....
ReplyDeletehmhm--
I love flowers... :)
such colors and such life... :)
So many flowers,
ReplyDeleteFantastic pictures ^__^
So colorful post :)
Hey akka,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot. The pics are really nice n ya i loved them. I am very happy!!!!
Wow great colorful flowers.
ReplyDeleteAnu madam have u travelled chennai coimbatore
WoW...some very beautifully captured shots!
ReplyDelete